Concrete Playground

It starts as a riot, the roar of young voices working themselves up into a frenzy of swearing, singing and stamping. They're demanding many things of you already: yes, that's right, teenagers are messy and loud, and they're going to ruin your night with a piece of angsty theatre, so grit your teeth and prepare for music that's too loud and streams of conciousness about drugs and underage sex being awesome.

But the moment 17-year-old Charlotte De Bruyne walks onto the stage, the racket stops and you realise that there's something else happening here. Those voices, now quiet, already know that people are sick to death of pre-packaged adolescent cliches. Instead, the thirteen stars of Once and for all... want to share some of their own thoughts on what teenagers are, and what they think of what we think of adolescence, and then they'll pretend to be on drugs, because they know we want that, and...

These Belgian teenagers, guided by director Alexander Devriendt, have created a wonderful piece of theatre that achieves the holy grail of performance - they actually excite the audience. Through the inventive uses of a simple, repeated sequence, Once and for all... rejuvenates those who see it, awakening their inner adolescent and filling the post-show foyer with a sea of giddy, enthusiastic faces.

Brought to Sydney by award-winning Belgian company, Ontroerend Goed, Once and for all... can sit proudly beside its cousin, The Smile Off Your Face, which made a moving connection with theatre-goers back during the Sydney Festival in January this year.

Take advantage of the wonderful stroke of serendipity that brought this show to Sydney and see Once and for all... before it finishes at the end of the month. It will leave you with an energised youthfulness that is more joyful than puberty and longer-lasting than Botox.


Photo by Phile Deprez

By Jimmy Dalton